National Sports Day is celebrated on August 29. This year to celebrate the occasion wishes poured from the sports fraternity as well as leaders of India.
National Sports Day is marked to celebrate the birth of legendary hockey player, Major Dhyan Chand. The first ever National Sports Day was celebrated in India on August 29, 2012.
National Sports Day's primary motto is to promote awareness about the importance of sports in the daily life of all citizens.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to hockey great Major Dhyan Chand on his birth anniversary and led a host of politicians and sportspersons in wishing the country on the occasion of National Sports Day on Monday.
"Greetings on National Sports Day and tributes to Major Dhyan Chand Ji on his birth anniversary. Recent years have been great for sports. May this trend continue. May sports keep gaining popularity across India," Modi tweeted.
Sachin Tendulkar also shared a post encouraging to play sports without any barrier of age.
"The story of Rupa, Lovely, Nayanmoni and Pinki is a story of hope. They not only ret-introduced a lesser-known sport to us, but also earned due recognition for themselves. Rupa Rani Tirkey was once a kabaddi player, Nayanmoni Saikia a weightlifter, Pinki Singh a cricketer, while Lovely Choubey was a sprinter.
"Despite their humble beginnings, they came together for a sport not known to many. And now with such a historic gold to their names, they have stood tall for the old adage - 'Age is just a number'," Tendulkar wrote in a statement.
Junior Sports Minister Nisith Pramanik pledged to work together to make India a sporting nation.
"My humble tributes to the wizard of hockey, Major Dhyan Chand Ji on his birth anniversary. On the occasion of National Sports Day 2022, I thank everyone who has dedicated their life towards the upliftment of sports in India. Let's work together to make India a sporting nation," he wrote on his Twitter handle.
Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra honoured the hockey genius.
"To honour the legend Major Dhyan Chand, National Sports Day falls on August 29th, and I look forward to seeing India come out and play sport. Not just on that day, but through the year!"
Star shuttler Lakshya Sen wrote: My sport brings out the best in me. Happy National Sports Day.
Former India cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Mithali Raj and Dinesh Karthik also took to social media to wish the countrymen on the occasion.
